MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. / June 20, 2012 - The Robert Morris field hockey team and head coach Olivia Netzler have announced the team's 2012 schedule with the Colonials playing six contests in front of the hometown crowd at Joe Walton Stadium in the upcoming season.
"We are excited to get back on the field next season," Netzler said. "We had a great run last year and with the girls we have coming back along with our incoming players, we want to continue and build on that success."
Robert Morris opens the 2012 campaign with a home tournament on Aug. 24-26 including the season opener against Villanova on Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. - the first home night game in program history. Central Michigan and Radford will play each other the following day at 10:30 a.m. before the four teams are reshuffled for two games on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
The Colonials then hit the road for nine-straight away games starting on Sept. 1-2 with a pair of neutral-site games in Louisville, Ky. RMU kicks off the stretch against Appalachian State on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 11 a.m. before rounding out the weekend against Saint Louis on Sunday (Sept. 2), also at 11 a.m. Robert Morris then travels to Kent State the following weekend to take on the Golden Flashes at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7 before playing a neutral-site game against Lock Haven on Saturday (Sept. 8) at 2 p.m. in Kent.
From there, the Colonials have a rematch of their first-ever win over a nationally ranked foe when they take on Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. in Athens. RMU beat the then-15th-ranked Bobcats 1-0 in overtime in 2011 at Joe Walton Stadium.
A pair of nonconference games in Lynchburg, Va., then awaits the Colonials, who take on Liberty on Friday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. before playing LaSalle the next day at 3 p.m. in a neutral-site game. After traveling to Ohio State on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m., Robert Morris closes out the nonconference season with a neutral-site game against California in State College, Pa., on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m.
RMU opens the 2012 Northeast Conference season on Sunday, Oct. 7 at home against Rider at noon before heading to Bryant on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. The Colonials then open a three-game home stretch at Joe Walton Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 14 against Siena at noon.
RMU completes its regular-season home schedule the following weekend against Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart. The weekend opener against the Bobcats is slated for Friday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. while the home finale is set for Sunday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. The Colonials close out the 2012 regular season on the road, taking on Monmouth on Friday, Oct. 26 at 4 and Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.
Robert Morris is coming off a record-setting year in 2011 with the Colonials earning a program-best eight wins last season. RMU also posted its first-ever win over a nationally ranked team in 2010, topping No. 15 Ohio 1-0 in overtime at Joe Walton Stadium on Sept. 16. Off the field, the Colonials earned their fifth-straight Gladiator by SGI / National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Academic Team Award.
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